Council bill would abolish controversial parking ticket fine reduction program for delivery drivers

The back of a delivery truck where boxes of fresh produce is being unloaded on the street near the food court in Flushing Queens' Chinatown. (sx70 / Getty Images)

It’s time to put the brakes on a program that gives delivery drivers a break on their parking tickets, City Councilman Costa Constantinides says.

Constantinides will introduce legislation Wednesday that would abolish the 15-year-old “Stipulated Parking Fine Program” — which lets delivery-focused businesses sign up to pay a pre-set, reduced fine for their parking tickets in exchange for giving up their right to challenge the tickets in court.

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“At the end of the day, we just felt that this was inequitable system that rewarded bad actors in many cases and avoided having a real conversation about congestion and how we keep our streets clear,” Constantinides, who chairs the committee on environmental protection, told the News.

The program was set up under Mayor Bloomberg, but has continued under the de Blasio administration, despite criticism that it allows big companies to get away with things like double parking and blocking bike and bus lanes.

“You see these orange tickets just kind of sitting in the windows like a badge of honor,” Constantinides said.

But the Department of Finance argued that the program did not really amount to a break for the delivery companies.

“The Stipulated Fine Program does not reduce parking fines. Rather, it helps us address the potential for companies to contest their tickets based on the expeditious delivery rule in New York City,” spokeswoman Aziza Taylor said, citing a defense the companies can often use.

“If the program did not exist, companies would contest their parking tickets individually and would end up paying roughly the same amount,” she said. “Whether businesses pay the parking tickets they accrue in bulk or individually is not going to change their behavior.”

Earlier this month, the Department of Finance announced that it would adjust the program to increase the penalties for some of the fines — which it said would amount to paying 27% more, or about $14 million annually. Double parking outside of midtown Manhattan will increase from $0 to $35.

But Constantinides noted that some fines would decrease — including the one for blocking a bike lane, which will go down by $5.

“Rewarding trucks for sitting in the right of way, I don’t believe is the right way to go,” he said.

The legislation is part of a transportation-related package of bills being introduced by Constantinides and other members Wednesday.

Another bill calls on the city to set an example when it comes to reducing the congestion caused by making deliveries — by requiring the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to plan for deliveries to arrive between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. at buildings under its jurisdiction — building on something the city has already piloted in midtown Manhattan.

A third bill would require the Department of Transportation to make 400 intersections more pedestrian friendly — by requiring the installation of “leading pedestrian interval signals” at crossings near schools, hospitals, seniors centers, libraries and parks. The signals allow for pedestrians to start crossing several seconds before a traffic light changes, giving them extra time to get across the street.